News: The ‘Black Panther’ Star Who Gave Up Everything For Christ.

Black Panther is nothing short of a phenomenon. The latest installment in the wildly successful “Marvel” movie series, it has become the second-highest grossing four-day opening in movie history, raking in $242 million. The film has been praised by critics and received a 97% rating on review
site Rotten Tomatoes.

“A film that fulfills the most rote demands of superhero spectacle, yet does so with style and subtexts that feel bracingly, joyfully groundbreaking,” wrote Ann Hornaday at the Washington Post.

But even more remarkable than box-office records and glowing reviews is the story behind actress Letitia Wright, who plays T’Challa’s little sister, Shuri. Wright, who appeared on British talk show This Morning , talked about how she almost missed out on the role after hitting a crisis in her life, dumping acting and going on a search for God.

“I needed to take a break from acting because I really idolized it. So I came off from it and I went on a journey to discover my relationship with God, and I became a Christian,” Wright said in the interview aired Feb. 9.

“It really just gave me so much love and light within myself. I felt secure, like I didn’t need validation from anyone else, or from getting a part. My happiness wasn’t dependent on that, it was dependent on my relationship with God.”

At the very depths of her depression, the British actress ended up coming to Christ after attending a London actors’ Bible study. So convinced that she had to put God first, she even turned down an acting role that would have set her alongside Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning.

“I remember God was like, to me, ‘Give up the job,’” the actress told Vanity Fair . “I can give you more than that; I just need you right now. Give up the job.”

Then, after laying down her own ambition and looking to the Lord, she was offered this gigantic role in Black Panther.